AW FATE: Characters

[Pkdragon]

w/e there's no rush, this gonna go on for a year anyway.

See, this is pretty much my thoughts.

While if I delay it a little, it'll be just slightly better because HPD can start at the same time as everyone else, ML doesn't miss *quite* as much. IDK. Anyway I already changed the date so I think it'd be a bit confusing if I changed it again. I dunno.

Also I totally misinterpreted you, Dragonite. Thought you meant you, too, were gone until Thursday.

[monkymeet]

draggie I can make a character for you if you like

since i like

enjoy making characters but never have the commitment to play them

[DieselPheonix]

This is a rough approximation of stuff if you like to fill in any areas not already covered. At a glance, no character is from Yellow Comet, has +2 or better in Fight, and +3 or better in Empathy and Physique.

Lad
Black Hole refugee, immediate family killed in escape, embittered as a result. Aloof. Mysterious.

Bittman the Great
One of Javier's captains with expectant traits to match. Values honor, disapproves of anything remotely cowardice.

"Uncle" Boris
Blue Moon politician with history as a banker, shrewd and charismatic but very limited combat experience.

Teddy
Black Hole Infantry drone serving under the Allied Nations. Repair specialist. Hates its job.

Summer
Orange Star spotter and vehicle operator, has a grudge against all things Black Hole.

Vasil
Seasoned veteran of Blue Moon and an expert in both guerilla warfare and communications equipment.

Valerie
Former baker, currently Blue Moon conscript, disgruntled but amicable. Likes hiking and nature.

Code: Select all

Skill Summary
- - - - - + Lad | BtG | Brs | TDY | Smr | Vsl | Vlr |
Physique..|  1  |  2  |  1  |  1  |  2  |  1  |     |
Will......|  2  |  4  |  1  |  1  |  1  |  4  |     |
Fight.....|     |  1  |     |     |     |     |  1  |
Shoot.....|  1  |  2  |     |  1  |  2  |  2  |  1  |
Athletics.|  1  |  3  |     |  1  |  2  |  1* |  4  |
Drive.....|     |  1  |  1  |     |  3  |     |  1  |
Flight....|     |     |     | -3  |  3  |     |     |
Command...|     |  3  |  2  |     |     |  2  |     |
Repair....|     |     |     |  4  |  1  |  1  |  1  |
Medical...|     |     |     |  2  |  1  |     |  2  |
Explosives|     |     |     |  2  |     |     |     |
Rapport...|     |  2  |  3  |     |     |  1  |  3  |
Deceive...|  4  |     |  3  |  2  |     |  1  |     |
Provoke...|  2  |     |  4  |     |     |     |     |
Stealth...|  2  |     |     |  3  |  1  |  3  |     |
Sleight...|  3  |     |     |  3  |     |     |  2  |
Notice....|  1  |  1  |  1  |     |  4  |  3  |  3  |
Empathy...|     |  1  |  2  |     |     |     |  2  |
Lore......|  3  |     |  2  |     |     |     |     |

Lad
S1: Introverted, withstand extra mental strain
S2: Mistrusting, Deceive bonus VS adults
S3: (open)

Bittman the Great
S1: Chivalry, divert enemy fire to self
S2: Body Armour, secondary Physique check after Athletics for dodging
S3: Javier's Right Hand Man, Fight bonus when near friendly comm tower

"Uncle" Boris
S1: (open)
S2: (open)
S3: (open)

Teddy
S1: Normalize, reduce severity of tech challenges and consequences
S2: Engineer, usage bonus for objects repaired
S3: Diagnose, substitute Medical for Empathy

Summer
S1: Spotter, temporarily give bonuses to another at expense to self
S2: Crossfire, Shoot bonus when allies are in the way
S3: Black Hole Hater, minor combat bonus VS Black Hole, penalty otherwise

Vasil
S1: Radio & Signals Specialist, bonus for setting up and operating radio equipment
S2: Radar Operator, expert in using radar equipment and avoiding radar detection
S3: One Ping Only, destroy 1 radio equipment to detect enemies, detectable by enemies

Valerie
S1: Razzmatazz, confuses targets
S2: Tasty Bread #1 Best, food has healing qualities
S3: Animal Friend, animal affinity

Separated from Main Army: Boris, Teddy, Valerie
Behind Enemy Lines: Bittman, Summer
Occupied Territory: Vasil
Mystery: Lad

[Narts]

At a glance, no character is from Yellow Comet, has +2 or better in Fight, and +3 or better in Empathy and Physique.

So we need a super-empathetic Bruce Lee clone!

[kiwi]

everyone but BmanG picked FIGHTING as their dump stat! or maybe it's the not dump stat? I forget!

[Sven]

hey pk at some point i'll talk stunts and crumpets with you so i can get the last two hammered out

i basically want to have body armor of some sort but i dunno about the third.

[HPD]

I probably need to brainstorm this STUNTS thing on the IRC or something.

[Pkdragon]

Ok, I will be on the IRC this afternoon. But not right away. I have to eat lunch. Give me an hour or so.

[Sven]

my other stunts:

Body Armour - allow you to use your Physique to take hits instead of your Atheletics to dodge hits. You would basically roll both, first to try to dodge, then to try and take it like a man if you fail to dodge.

Javier's Right Hand: +2 to Fight when you're in control of a communication tower

[Pkdragon]

OK guys, I apologize, one more bit of rules, this time about FATE POINTS. This is mostly all stuff I've mentioned before, but I wanted to be explicit and have it all in one place. Also, mentioning compels for the first time, which is a great feature, but also a box of worms, which is why I've waited so long to bring it up.


Fate Points

Fate Points are basically wildcards that your characters can use to truly excel in specific situations. You start with 3, and you will gain FATE points for reaching major points in the story, accomplishing major goals, accepting Compels (see the end of this post), and anything else that I find worth rewarding.

Invoking an Aspect

This is the numerical, mechanical way to use a Fate Point. Basically, when making a skill check, you can get a +2 boost to your roll, IF you can explain how it's relevant to your character's aspects or the situational aspects.

Example: You've got “Hatred of Midgets”. You are fighting a Midget. You use a FATE point to give yourself a +2 to Fight that midget, because he really pisses you off. ((Disclaimer: This is just an example, please do not hate on midgets and beat them up.))

Example: It's rainy. Situational aspect is “Low Visibility”. Normally this would be a problem for you, but you can also use it to your advantage by spending a FATE point and using it to enhance your sneak roll. That would represent going out of the way to use the rainy environment to your advantage while sneaking.

Declaring a story detail

Now, this is where things get interesting. Well, I'll just start by actually pulling out the relevant page.



Hmmm. Very interesting. Now, once again, it doesn't give you completely free reign. You should TRY to keep it reasonable, and relevant to either your character's aspects or the current Situational Aspects. But this is a powerful tool and has a lot of potential uses.

Paying for Stunts
Some stunts are powerful and require an active FATE point to be payed to use them. I think we've covered that pretty well.

GM Fiat

If you're asking for a favor, I may very well say “hey bro, spend a FATE point and you can do that”. Or I may not. Depends on the request. But again, FATE points are a wildcard and a bargaining chip. For example, asking me to throw certain vehicles or equipment your way, I'm totally willing to do so if you're willing to spend a FATE point for it!


Compels

Ok, there's one more important FATE concept that I haven't talked about yet, mostly because they're really tricky to adapt to the forum setting. But basically, something particularly bad happens to you and you get a FATE point out of it to use later.

For example, I might PM you “hey do you want to fall into this pit, even though you passed your notice check? I'll give you a FATE point”.

And you can say “hell yeah sweet FATE point!” or “hell no I don't know what's down there”. You might even say “wait a second... just how deep is the pit?”

So that part is something you don't have to concern yourself with. It's mostly on my end. HOWEVER, there's one other thing to be aware of:

You have the right to suggest a compel for your character. You can ask me “Hey can I fall into this trap even though I passed this check with flying colors?” and I will probably say “Sure” and give you a FATE point. This is completely 100% optional, but it is a way to get FATE points, as well as enhance the drama of the story.




The main take-away here really is that FATE points (and Compels) can be used to change the story in unexpected ways. There's a lot of room for creativity here, so don't be afraid to ask.

--

As far as I know, there's only one segment of rules I need to introduce, and that's Combat. Because there is a structure to combat, and I think it's best just to explain when we get there. It's not that hard though, and is mostly just a variation on the standard mechanics.

[Pkdragon]

ATTENTION: "Medical" has been added to the skills, and anyone who wishes to switch out a skill they have for it may do so, as long as they have not used it yet.

[kiwi]

I'mma swap out Command for Medical
if this 1 point difference saves someone's life, AWESOME

[DieselPheonix]

Skill summary has been updated.

It is interesting to observe skill pick patterns. With the addition of Medical, the current ruleset has two loose skill trees, one focused on more direct attributes and the other on indirect.

[DieselPheonix]

I was thinking about switching Notice for Medical as it turns out every character has some points in the former. Is this acceptable? Decode would then substitute Medical for Empathy checks and be renamed something medical-like.

[Narts]

Notice is a pretty general use skill and you never know when you might get separated from the main group. Though certainly it makes sense for a robot to be oblivious to its surroundings.

[Pkdragon]

Sure, you can do that. Notice IS a great skill but if everyone has it it's boring =D

[DieselPheonix]

I have not even seen Dragonite log in recently, so I will be switching Teddy's Notice with Medical.

[scraggypunk]

melanthe created only to be the main antagonist of a forum rpg years later

i'm sure deoxy will be thrilled if she sees this lmao.

it's a dream come true

[hawkesnightmare]

A former baker and part time party magician conscripted into the BM army and is now facing down an elite crack squad of BH soldiers that can control plant tentacles that may or may not delve into the darker aspects of Japan's porn industry. This will be interesting.

[scraggypunk]

[MysteriousLad]

Hawke, get yourself in here.
You're reading it so you'd do fine.

[Narts]

How about this: Your military specialisation is Food Service (an army cook)

You were part of a Blue Moon logistics unit but were left behind for some reason or the other when the BM army retreated.

You managed to find refuge in an underground facility where you have been hiding this time.

About your stunts: All three sound more like Aspects to me. You can have them as Aspects but you should come up with something for your Stunts that is more inherent to your character (not just something she's carrying in her backpack) and it can be fairly powerful, even a little magical and unexplained.

Think of stunts being a little like CO powers, but they work on individual level rather than whole armies. (Though a CO power would be a Stunt too, just a powerful one)

[scraggypunk]

ah, yeah i had the feeling i did stunts wrong. ok redo:

name: valerie

high concept: a conscripted baker, assigned to food service. got very basic training in proper soldiering. gregarious and agreeable. enjoys hiking, nature, and magic
trouble: rather disgruntled about the conscripted thing
nationality: blue moon
aspects: cut off from main army! oh no dang horrors of war
buncha rations! has lots of food in her backpack
brought binoculars! cause she enjoys bird-watching
amateur magician! has fake money and multi-coloured rags and whatnot

4 atheletics
3 rapport
3 notice
2 empathy
2 sleight of hand
2 medical
1 fight
1 drive
1 repair
1 shoot

stunt 1: razzmatazz! dazzles foes with illusions so they are very confused
stunt 2: tasty bread #1 best! heal wounds with expertly crafted confections
stunt 3: animal friend! nearby critters help valerie out

[MysteriousLad]

We need someone to sign up as the mutant plant.

[Narts]

Ok cool. Your character looks fine - though she looks kind of weak.

Your Physical HP: 2
Your Mental HP: 2

If you want to be able to survive more hits you need to take points in Physique or Will.

Lad: I'll let you be the plant if you allow your current character to be eaten by it.

[MysteriousLad]

That would be amazing, though I'd like to hear others oppinions on that first. As I don't want to suddenly add some weird factor to the game.

[DieselPheonix]

Is that a complete character re-roll or does Lad become the host?

Summary post updated.

[MysteriousLad]

I'd not host, but it would be a reroll for me.

[Narts]

It was a joke. You don't get to be the plant.

But if you allow yourself to be buried in the rubble of the wall exploding next to you, you may get to be one of the bricks.

[MysteriousLad]

Wait what

[Narts]

Do I remember someone mentioning they'd like to RP as a guest character?

I think I could let someone control Baggett for this fight.

[MysteriousLad]

Please do